Get Started with ASP.NET Websites

ASP.NET is a free web framework for building great websites and web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You can also create Web APIs and mobile sites, and you can use real-time technologies like Web Sockets and more!

Building Websites in ASP.NET

ASP.NET offers three frameworks for creating web applications: Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC, and ASP.NET Web Pages. All three frameworks are stable and mature, and you can create great web applications with any of them. No matter what framework you choose, you will get all the benefits and features of ASP.NET everywhere.

Each framework targets a different development style. The one you choose depends on a combination of your programming assets (knowledge, skills, and development experience), the type of application you’re creating, and the development approach you’re comfortable with. All three frameworks will be supported, updated, and improved in future releases of ASP.NET.

Below is an overview of each of the frameworks and some ideas for how to choose between them.
If you prefer a video introduction, see
Making Websites with ASP.NET.

ASP.NET Web Pages

ASP.NET Web Pages and the Razor syntax provide a fast, approachable, and lightweight way to combine server code with HTML to create dynamic web content. Connect to databases, add video, link to social networking sites, and include many more features that help you create beautiful sites that conform to the latest web standards.

MVC

ASP.NET MVC gives you a powerful, patterns-based way to build dynamic websites that enables a clean separation of concerns and that gives you full control over markup for enjoyable, agile development. ASP.NET MVC includes many features that enable fast,
TDD-friendly development for creating sophisticated applications that use the latest web standards.

General Notes

All three ASP.NET frameworks are based on the .NET Framework and share core functionality of .NET and of ASP.NET. For example, all three frameworks offer a login security model based around membership, and all three share the same facilities for managing requests, handling sessions, and so on that are part of the core ASP.NET functionality.

In addition, the three frameworks are not entirely independent, and choosing one does not preclude using another. Since the frameworks can coexist in the same web application, it's not uncommon to see individual components of applications written using different frameworks. For example, customer-facing portions of an app might be developed in MVC to optimize the markup, while the data access and administrative portions are developed in Web Forms to take advantage of data controls and simple data access. We’ve made significant improvements in the latest releases of ASP.NET and Visual Studio to make it easy to use these frameworks together.

Installs powered by the Microsoft Web Platform Installer

The product(s) you are about to install leverage the Web Platform Installer (WebPI) for installation. By downloading and using the Web Platform Installer (WebPI), you agree to the license terms and privacy statement for WebPI. This installer will contact Microsoft over the Internet to retrieve product information. WebPI uses the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP), which is turned on by default, see privacy statement for more information. Some of the Microsoft software obtained through WebPI may use CEIP. To view which software uses CEIP, see here.